# What is Quentin Tarantino's genius? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987 "2014-05-08T17:17:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/21 "2014-05-09T12:12:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I think you could recast any given _Pulp Fiction_ role and still have a pretty great film. With the exception of Tarantino seeing the unique potential of Samuel L. Jackson. _Nobody_ was beating down John Travolta’s door in the early 90s. Whatever Tarantino saw in him, it landed Tarantino a great performance (on the cheap), and landed Travolta one of the more remarkable career renaissances in film history. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/22 "2014-05-09T12:28:38Z")
He does seem to have a knack for taking underappreciated parts (e.g.: songs, actor, plots) which seem quite passé and but he puts them together in a way that is surprisingly good. Like he can create the essence of a genre by MacGivering it with some has-been songs and actors he found behind the couch. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/23 "2014-05-09T13:26:35Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Seconded. “Down in Mexico” by The Coasters for the striptease scene in Death Proof totally sells the rest of that movie even though, realistically, its not very good. I couldn’t agree more. That’s one of the best scenes in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/24 "2014-05-09T13:31:38Z")
The scripting is always top draw in Tarentino films. The casting is great - he has [his own choice](http://vimeo.com/73214366) of who he likes, and these choices are often very different to the mainstream studio bosses’. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/25 "2014-05-09T14:36:09Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > _Nobody_ was beating down John Travolta’s door in the early 90s. Whatever Tarantino saw in him, it landed Tarantino a great performance (on the cheap), and landed Travolta one of the more remarkable career renaissances in film history. Sure, but my point was this: terrific as Travolta was in that role, imagine Tarantino had gone with one of the other guys he’d considered: maybe Michael Madsen, or maybe Daniel Day-Lewis – or maybe Bruce Willis, back when other folks were being looked at to play Butch, since we could play this game with that character – sure as Steve Buscemi could’ve done Tim Roth’s job, and I see where Michelle Pfeiffer was apparently Uma Thurman’s runner-up to deliver Mia’s cut-the-shit dialogue. Make one of those changes and the movie’s still a classic – but who else could fill in for Samuel L. Jackson as Samuel L. Jackson in that one? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/26 "2014-05-09T15:22:25Z")
A lot of his work engages directly with the key works of feminist film theory (which is a big deal to film theorists and is more about linguistic theory than women’s studies). He’s a film geek’s film geek. He doesn’t make schlocky exploitation films just because he likes them. He is making them because he’s obsessed with the way they can be both empowering and degrading at the same time. All of his exploitation films ultimately return the power of narrative to the “exploited” characters. He’s trying to liberate them, and to symbolically rewrite film history. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/27 "2014-05-09T15:32:22Z")
“Genius”? If you take away the Tourette’s-like cursing, brutal violence and adolescent take on women and ethnics, would anyone still watch them? If he’s a genius then so is Stephen King, they have a lot in common. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/28 "2014-05-09T16:08:19Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > “Genius”? If you take away the Tourette’s-like cursing, brutal violence and adolescent take on women and ethnics, would anyone still watch them? If he’s a genius then so is Stephen King, they have a lot in common. “Tourettes-like cursing?” Maybe it’s just because I spent my twenties working in factories and warehouses, but when _Reservoir Dogs_ came out, I remember thinking, “Wow, finally a movie where the characters actually talk like real people!” 😛 I think it’s very fair to call him the Stephen King of movies. They both wear their formative influences (kung fu, blaxploitation, and mob flicks for Tarantino; Lovecraft, 50s schlock horror, and Bradbury for King) on their sleeves and mostly serve up obvious mashups of those influences. Both made their initial splash with shock value, shock value which only diminished because the rest of their respective industries caught up with them. Both are best-known for big, over-the-top thrill rides (with some sloppy edges), but are capable of surprising amounts of nuance in those moments when they crank down the volume a bit. The farmhouse scene in _Inglourious Basterds_ is a masterpiece, and something Tarantino was probably not capable of in 1994. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/29 "2014-05-09T17:12:23Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > “Genius”? If you take away the Tourette’s-like cursing, brutal violence and adolescent take on women and ethnics, would anyone still watch them? If he’s a genius then so is Stephen King, they have a lot in common. Tarantino is well-accepted as a great director. The same can be said for Stephen King being a great writer. Just because they are portraying certain elements does not mean they give those elements a ringing endorsement. Surely, some of the fans may take it as glorification of those aspects, but that is on the viewer, not the creator. ---
**Author:** ![NVME702-redux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@NVME702-redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NVME702-redux)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/30 "2014-05-09T17:13:33Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > “Genius”? If you take away the Tourette’s-like cursing, brutal violence and adolescent take on women and ethnics, would anyone still watch them? If he’s a genius then so is Stephen King, they have a lot in common. Tarantino has a balanced representation of womens roles in his film and although I can only speak on behalf of my hispanic ethnicity, his writing for ALL races have been equally good/evil as well. As for brutal violence, of course its not Howards End but you do realize what the subject matter is, right? I love all of his films, the stinkers too, because his characters verbal interaction is the most realistic of any film makers (save Wes Andersen, love him too). The mundane interaction on a drive to a hit, bathroom banter, coworkers discussing strategy- it all flows naturally and without pretense. That was my take away the first time I saw Pulp Fiction in the theater that began my crush on his directing/writing style. Honestly, what I am offended by is your flippantly tossed reference to cursing and Tourettes. Cursing manifests itself in about 10% of people diagnosed with Tourettes but using it to say someone overdoes foul language reeks of Archie Bunker like ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/31 "2014-05-09T17:13:41Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > He doesn’t make schlocky exploitation films just because he likes them. He is making them because he’s obsessed with the way they can be both empowering and degrading at the same time. All of his exploitation films ultimately return the power of narrative to the “exploited” characters. He’s trying to liberate them, and to symbolically rewrite film history. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/32 "2014-05-09T17:31:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > If I would suggest any one scene, it would indeed be the opening to Inglorious Basterds. Few filmmakers are talented enough to make a scene that great. But at the same time, if you take that scene out (or in Django Unchained, you take out the scene of the story of Brunhilde) you aren’t left with a particularly good or fun movie. I think Tarantino lucked out in his choice of actor. Otherwise, he would have had a couple of duds. > [@Vashbul](#): > > Also, it’s not unfortunate that he makes pulpy, schlocky films. His whole thing is to demonstrate that those cheap exploitation films he loves are legitimate cinema, as worthy of respect as any other genre. (And his films get nominated for Oscars, proving that we noticed.) Say for example that Tarantino brings on the gore. Exploitation films are famed for violence and **sex**. If he’s deriving these films down to their essence, he’d be making something more like Crank or (as mentioned) Machete with lots of pretty girls walking around in flimsy outfits. Despite all his interest in the style of film, he doesn’t have the sympathies to recreate what it is he likes about them. His films are still good, by simple virtue of being a good director, but I do believe that he would make **better** films if he stopped trying so hard to make exploitation films. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/33 "2014-05-09T17:55:27Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > But at the same time, if you take that scene out (or in Django Unchained, you take out the scene of the story of Brunhilde) you aren’t left with a particularly good or fun movie. > > I think Tarantino lucked out in his choice of actor. Otherwise, he would have had a couple of duds. Don’t agree. I can name three more scenes from Inglorious Basterds that are justified modern classics. 1. The scene mentioned above, where Shoshana puts on her make-up and prepares for revenge; 2. The scene where her revenge-film is _projected on the smoke_ of the burning theatre; and 3. The scene where Landa makes a deal. The movie has four more classic scences than most movies - even for those who, overall, didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/34 "2014-05-09T18:12:47Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > “Genius”? If you take away the Tourette’s-like cursing, brutal violence and adolescent take on women and ethnics, would anyone still watch them? I like how you just implied that all the people in this thread who have expressed admiration for Tarantino only do so because they’re violent, misogynistic racists. Actually, I don’t really like it that much at all. I kinda think it sucks. But I’ll answer your question anyway: Yes, I would still watch Tarantino without the cursing and the violence. (I can’t really say how much I’d enjoy his films if you took out his adolescent take on women and (ahem) “ethnics” because I’ve never seen a film of his that had either of those qualities.) I don’t watch his movies because they’ve got swears and lots of blood in them. I watch them because Tarantino is good at literally every part of movie making. He’s a superb visual storyteller, able to use the camera to convey a surprisingly deep amount of character. He has his well noted ear for natural dialogue, a _phenomenal_ ability with actors, and an almost unique skill at taking apart disparate elements of pop culture and recombining them into seamless wholes. > [@](#): > > If he’s a genius then so is Stephen King, they have a lot in common. I don’t really see that. King is a middling talent who has never really grown as an artist past his initial success as a young man. Tarantino has been at the top of his field, critically and commercially, almost since the very beginning of his career, and whose work consistently shows greater complexity and subtlety as he matures. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/35 "2014-05-09T18:14:30Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Don’t agree. I can name three more scenes from Inglorious Basterds that are justified modern classics. > > 1. The scene mentioned above, where Shoshana puts on her make-up and prepares for revenge; > > 2. The scene where her revenge-film is _projected on the smoke_ of the burning theatre; and > > 3. The scene where Landa makes a deal. > > The movie has four more classic scences than most movies - even for those who, overall, didn’t like it. I’d also add the scene in the bar with the guessing game. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/36 "2014-05-09T18:19:35Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Say for example that Tarantino brings on the gore. Exploitation films are famed for violence and **sex**. If he’s deriving these films down to their essence, he’d be making something more like Crank or (as mentioned) Machete with lots of pretty girls walking around in flimsy outfits. Despite all his interest in the style of film, he doesn’t have the sympathies to recreate what it is he likes about them. Why do you assume the sex is what he “really” likes about these films, and not the parts that he actually includes in his movies? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/37 "2014-05-09T18:25:36Z")
I’ve been struggling to articulate exactly what it is, beyond his obvious mastery of the craft of filmmaking, that I love about his movies. I guess at the heart of it is a paradox - he creates masterpieces out of materials that others mostly see as trash. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/38 "2014-05-09T18:54:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I like how you just implied that all the people in this thread who have expressed admiration for Tarantino only do so because they’re violent, misogynistic racists. Oh please! > [@Miller](#): > > King is a middling talent who has never really grown as an artist past his initial success as a young man. Tarantino has been at the top of his field, critically and commercially, almost since the very beginning of his career, and whose work consistently shows greater complexity and subtlety as he matures. I dunno about their career paths, but I think their style is strikingly similar (shocking violence! cursing! interesting cultural reference!) Look, I’m not passing moral judgment on either of these guys - watch/read this stuff if you want. I personally think 80s slasher films are cool, but I’m not going to stand up and say they’re works of genius for deconstructing blah blah blah… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/39 "2014-05-09T19:31:52Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Oh please! Oh please what? How is that post interpretable as anything other than a slam against people who like Tarantino? > [@](#): > > I dunno about their career paths, but I think their style is strikingly similar (shocking violence! cursing! interesting cultural reference!) I would genuinely enjoy seeing you try to defend this position. Mostly for the comedic value. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987/40 "2014-05-09T20:09:37Z")
Hey, you two assholes knock it the fuck off and calm down! Cut the bullshit. We ain’t on a fuckin’ playground! I don’t believe this shit. Both of you guys got ten years on me and I’m the only one acting like a professional! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-quentin-tarantinos-genius/687987.md?page=3)